Something I Need
by ForeverAndAlwaysCaskett
Summary: After a tragic accident takes away the one person she ever truly needed, Elena's life seems to have no purpose. Trusting no one, she closes herself off from the world. Will Damon's love and the love of his younger sister break through her walls, showing her a family she's never had? Or, will a tragic twist rip them apart, leaving her more broken then ever? AU/AH


A/N: Hey everyone! I've decided to write my first multi chapter story! I've had this idea in my head for a long time and I hope you all love it as much as I do! This is the prolouge just to get you intorduced to the main characters and give you a taste of what's going on. This fic will be rated T for now but I may bump it up to M depending on where the story takes me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and PLEASE please let me know what you think in a review! :)

Disclaimer: All the character of this story belong to the CW/Vampire Diaries/L.J Smith. The story however is all mine.

* * *

Elena runs out of her house, the rain pounding on the pavement clouding her vision. She is instantly soaked as she runs after a middle aged women attempting to get into a car.

"Mom! Mom stop!" She yells in desperation.

Her mother ignores her, enters the car, slams the door and backs quickly out of the drive way. She begins to speed down the road, going way over the speed limit. Elena runs down the sidewalk desperately trying to keep up with the car but failing miserably. She watches in horror as her mothers car approaches a red light, showing no signs of stopping. The car barrels through the intersection and slams forcefully into an oncoming car.

"MOM!" Elena screams out.

She rushes towards the two cars but is thrown back forcefully when the two cars erupt into flames causing a small explosion. She sits up slowly, her arms covered in cuts and a large gash on her head.

"No. No. No no no! MOM!"

Elena wakes with a start, confused at her surroundings. Once realizing where she is, she looks out the window of the taxi cab and takes a steading breath. The car comes to a stop and she glances at the meeter before exiting the taxi and rounds to the back to retrieve her bags from the driver. She pulls a wad of money out of her back pocket and hands it to the driver before bringing her gaze to the white, southern style house with a wrap around porch and shuttered windows.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walks to the front door, raises her fist and knocks hesitantly. She waits, fidgeting with the strap of the bag resting on her shoulder. After a few moments the door opens and reveals Grayson. He looks at her in shock and opens his mouth as if to say something but closes it quickly. Elena shakes her head, brushes past him and strides sharply to the stairs just inside the door. Grayson catches up to her and attempts to take one of the bags from her grasp but she yanks it back forcefully, stopping him.

"Elena, please." He pleads.

"You know, I've gone through scenario after scenario in my head about what it would be like to see you again but now, all I can think is I wish it was you and not her." She states coldly.

Grayson steps back, her words hitting him as if he'd been slapped. His face falls, pain clouding his eyes. Elena turns and walks the rest of the way up the stairs. She reaches the second floor and takes a right, walking to the door at the end of the hall. She places her hand on the door nob, hesitating before slowly turning the handle and pushing the door open revealing a room clearly intended for a small child.

The walls are painted a pale pastel purple and all the furniture is small and white. On the bed, there is a whole family of stuffed animals pilled against the pillows and resting on the comforter is a envelope. She takes in the room from where she stands at the door, looking at every detail. She walks into the room slowly and approaches the bed. Reaching out her hand, she pets the head of a small teddy bear. Her eyes well up with tears that she angrily swipes away with the back of her hand. She grabs the stuffed animal, strides from the room and slams the door. She turns from the room and walks to the opposite side of the house, clutching the bear in her hand. Once there she opens a door in the far corner steps inside the room and closes the door.

* * *

Grayson approaches the door to the guest bedroom and knocks softly before entering. Inside, Elena is curled up on the large bed facing away from the door. Grayson walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. He places a hand on her shoulder but she quickly moves away causing his hand to fall on to the comforter.

"I get that you're upset and clearly don't want to be here but we need to make the best of this." He tries to reason with her.

"No. We really don't." She replies in the same cold tone as before.

"I'll let you get settled in." Grayson states as he rises from the bed. He turns, and exits the room closing the door behind him.

Elena remains motionless in the bed, her watery gaze locked on the blank wall in front of her. The tears stream steadily down her face as she clutches the small bear in her arms.

* * *

As the sun comes through the blinds, Elena remains in the same position as the night before. Her eyes wide open, dry, red and puffy. Dried tear tracks cling to her cheeks and her gaze remains unfeeling, locked on the wall. A faint knocking is heard in the background. She remains still, the nocking gradually getting louder. The knocking reaches a deafening volume and Elena is startled back into reality. She blinks several times and slowly turns her head towards the door. She sighs and fully turns on her other side, her whole body now facing the door.

Grayson enters the room slowly, peaking around the door. Once he sees Elena awake he walks fully into the room and sits down on the bed. He once again reaches his hand out to place on her shoulder but she pulls away before his hand reaches her.

"Please, let me be here for you." he begs her.

"I've never needed you before, sure as hell don't need you now."

Grayson sighs and tries a different approach. "At least let me get you some help, I know a really great thera—"

Elena sits up quickly, throws her legs over the side of the bed and stands up, cutting him off. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. I don't need some shrink poking and prodding my brain, telling me what I already know."

"I can't just stand here and watch you go through this alone."

"I'm fine." She states.

"You're not!" His tone rising.

"I said I'm fine, Grayson!" She snaps back forcefully.

She strides quickly around the bed, brushes roughly past Grayson and enters the bathroom connected to the room, slamming the door. She braces herself against the sink, clutching the rim, her knuckles white from the force. She looks up into the mirror at her reflection and sucks in a breath sharply. Her eyes well up with tears but she quickly blinks them away angrily. Her skin is pale and her breathing is labored. She releases her hold on sink and reaches down to pick up a small makeup case lodged out of sight between the sink and a large shelf holding towels, soap and shampoo. Once the bag is in her hand she stands up straight, unzips the bag and pulls out a prescription pill bottle. With shaky hands, she uncaps the bottle and dumps one small, yellow pill into her hand. She quickly pops the pill into her mouth and swallows without water. She recaps the bottle, throws it back in the bag and returns the bag to it's hiding place. She rises back up and looks back at her reflection, her features less tense, her hands resting calmly at her sides. Reaching forward, she turns on the water and splashes her face with the cool liquid. She dries her face quickly, turns and exits the bathroom.

* * *

Elena appears at the top of the staircase dressed in nice slacks and a blouse. She adjusts the bag on her shoulder and descends the stairs. Grayson is sitting on the couch, two steaming plates of eggs, bacon and toast sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

"I made breakfast. Thought we could use a do over." Elena glances at the food, then to Grayson, shaking her head before she walks fully over to the door.

"You've got to eat, Elena" He commands.

Elena ignores him and pulls open the door and exits the house. Grayson stands and walks briskly to the door.

"Where are you going?" He yells. Elena slams the door shut, effectively cutting him off.

* * *

Elena sits on a bench in grassy area near the edge of the square writing in her journal. She looks up at the cloudy sky briefly before continuing her writing. After a few moments she closes the journal and places the pen and notebook into her bag. She rises from the bench and walks in the direction of the main town.

As she walks, she takes note of the familiar shops and markets she passes, shaking her head at the "small town charm" bursting from each of the buildings. When she reaches the end of the street after only a few minutes of walking she crosses to the other side and walks the other direction. About halfway down the street she stops in front of a day care facility. A small smile crosses her face as she sees the "Help Wanted" sign in the window. The smile stays on her face as she enters the building.

She approaches the reception desk and rings the bell. A women in her late twenties, early thirties, comes into the room from the back and sits down at the desk.

"Hello there, how can I help you?" Rose asks.

"I saw the sign on the window and would like to apply."

"Oh wonderful! Do you have any experience?"

"Yeah. Two years."

"Great! Well, why don't we go into my office and talk a bit." She turns her attention behind the desk calling out to a girl in the back. "Anna dear, can you watch the desk?"

Anna walks out of the back room and comes up behind Rose. "Sure, no problem."

Rose rises from the desk and leads Elena to an office just down the hall. The two enter and Rose closes the door.

* * *

Elena walks through the front door and ascends the stairs. She walks down the hallway, enters the guest room and closes the door. As she enters the room, she runs into a stack of boxes just inside the door. The room is filled with several boxes of varying sizes.

She walks up to one of the piles and grabs a small box that is resting on top. Sitting down on the bed, she slowly removes the tape from the box. Once opened, the box reveals dozens of pictures, some in frames and some without. She digs through the box until she finds what she's looking for. She pulls out one of the framed photos and runs her fingers across the image of her and a middle aged women. She places the photo on the bed, rises and walks over to the opens the doors and places the box in the far corner of the upper shelf. She closes the door and returns to the bed. She takes a hold of the photo and places on the night stand.

She begins to open more of the boxes and places the things she finds around the room. In one of the boxes she pulls out a large mason jar that is half filled with money. She places the jar on the desk and turns it so the label reading "Juilliard" is easily visible. She pulls a large stack of music books out of another box, a file folder sandwiched between them. She sets the books down on her desk, the folder going unnoticed.

As she continues unpacking, Grayson enters the room without knocking, wearing a suit. Elena stays focused on her task, not looking at him.

"There's this new invention called knocking. You should try it sometime."

"Alright, I've had enough of your attitude, show me a little respect. I've got somewhere to be and you're not staying here alone." He demands.

"Like hell I'm not. If you think you suddenly have control over me again you're sorely mistaken."

"Watch your tone. I am still your father and until you're eighteen you do as I say. You have five minutes." Grayson turns and storms from the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Elena huffs angrily and shoves the box she was unpacking, sending it toppling to the floor, the contents spilling everywhere. She walks over to the desk, grabs her bag angrily and storms from the room.

* * *

Grayson and Elena enter a house filled with people, all dressed nicely in black. The people are scattered around the space talking and eating. In the entry way there is a table holding photos of a middle aged women, flowers and a guest book. Elena surveys the room, completely overlooking the table.

"A wake? Seriously? I mean I knew you were an insensitive, lying bastard but this? This takes the cake. You're right on your way to winning father of the year." She brushes past him and moves fully into the room before he has a chance to answer.

Grayson makes his way into the room, walks up to Jenna and wraps his arm around her waist. She turns and looks at him, a smile on her face. Once she sees his face her smile fades and she glances over his shoulder, seeing Elena at the food table.

"How's she settling in?" She asks. Grayson looks at her, shakes his head and sigs. "That good huh?" Jenna replies.

"I'm at a loss. I'm nice to her, she lashes out. I try and parent her, she lashes out. She's unreachable."

"Well what did you expect? You haven't spoken to the girl in ten years." She reminds him.

"Not by choice."

"Well, she doesn't know that."

"I...There was nothing…" He attempts to explain, his words failing him.

"Hey, I know." She reassures him. "Lets go give our condolences." Grayson nods and Jenna reaches down and laces her fingers through his then the two walk the rest of the way into the crowded room.

Elena stands at the food table with a plate in her hand surveying the options. Just as she goes to reach for some fruit a small hand reaches by her side, trying to grab a muffin. Elena looks down to see a four year old girl. The young girl reaches up again, straining as much as she can but fails again at retrieving the muffin. Elena sees her struggle and grabs ahold of the muffin and places it on the girl's plate.

"There you go sweetie." She says sweetly.

The young girl looks up to Elena and smiles shyly before running off into the other room. Elena shakes her head, laughing softly to herself. She then finishes filling her plate, walks to the far side of the room and stands in the corner, away from everyone else. She's standing quietly, picking at her food when Damon walks over and stands next to her.

"You're new." He states, intrigued.

"Hello Captain Obvious." She replies sarcastically.

"Wow, who peed in your cheerios this morning?" He shoots back quickly.

"Nice. Real original. It's more along the lines of the fact that I'm stuck in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere, forced to be at this wake that is probably for some old guy who died in his sleep."

Damon tenses, his jaw tightening. "Actually, it's for my mom." He says sadly.

Elena sucks in a sharp breath and begins fidgeting with the fork in her hand. Her eyes well up with tears and dart all around the room. Her breathing begins to come out is shallow gasps and she clutches onto her plate like it's her life line

"I uh..I..Um."

Damon notices her 180 degree change in behavior and a look of confusion and concern crosses his face. "Are you okay?"

Before she can answer Calla, the young girl from the food table comes running up to Damon and hugs her arms around his legs. The girl looks up to Elena and then tugs on Damon's suit coat to get his attention.

"That's the muffin lady!"

Damon looks down at her confused and then quickly looks back up to Elena who is still very uncomfortable and visibly attempting to not let her tears fall. "The who?" He asks Calla, looking down at her.

"I've...I've got to go." Elena stutters.

She moves quickly from the corner and Damon and Calla watch as she runs from the house.

* * *

Elena enters Grayson's house and heads for the stairs but is stopped by her father's voice. "Where have you been?" He asks angrily.

"Out."

Grayson rises from the couch and walks up to her, blocking her path up the stairs. Elena pushes past him and ascends the stairs. Grayson quickly follows behind her.

"You can't just take off whenever you want to." He tells her forcefully.

Elena stops abruptly at the top of the stairs and rounds furiously to face him. "My mother died! Five days ago!" She screams at him.

"You think I don't know that!? She was my—"

"Don't." She yells, cutting him off. "Don't you dare act like she was anything to you! You weren't there when I got the phone call. You weren't there when I planned the funeral, by myself! You weren't there because you left us! You tore this family apart so don't you act like we meant anything to you." She turns and storms into the guest room, slamming the door.

She falls back against the door, a sob escaping her mouth. She slowly falls, her back sliding against the door until she hits the ground. Sobs rack her body as she reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone. She dials a number by memory and brings the phone to her ear. The phone rings several times before switching over to a voice mail box. Elena continues to sob as she listens to the voice.

"You've reached Miranda, speak your peace at the—" The message is cut off with the beep.

Elena's sobs slow just enough for her to speak. "Mommy…"

* * *

A/N: So there you have it. Please let me know what you think in a review! I only want to continue with this if there is enough interest. Thanks so much for reading!


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